Well, everyone has definitely made me feel better. Had I known this perfectly average pre-teen girl was going to flip out, I definitely would have put both dogs in a down-stay while I fetched the kitten. And when the girl did react, it happened really fast, and I got eevee away from her as quickly as I could.

Someone on another forum told me it was my fault the whole thing happened and I "let Eevee become a victim" because I walked past this normal-seeming girl on our own property and one of my dogs happened to sniff on the way past. That felt more offensive to me than what I said to the girl. It rather hurt. I guess I'm supposed to leash my dogs on my own property on the very off chance that a guest is going to suddenly have an irrational fear of dogs...

Don't get me wrong, when I'm out in public with my dogs, they are leashed and I don't let them just approach people. But we were on our private property and just happened to walk past. I don't think I could have prevented that, because I Just had no idea...

The more I think about this, the more I wonder if I wouldn't just bust out laughing while trying to intercept the flip-flop slapping and say something like "why are you DOING that?" which probably would have offended them, too.

Seriously, the mental image of a teenage girl flailing around with a flip flop while screaming about a dog that... sniffed her. COME ON, who acts that way?

Years ago someone was over and raised there hand to Byron and I don't remember what I said but they left quickly. Byron just wants petted by everyone and this guy was in my house sitting on the couch where he knows there are dogs. You hit my do and I am going to be all kinds I physical with you.

The other dogs get put up when someone's over because they are overwhelming and I don't want anyone in a bad situation.

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If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain
dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few
persons -James Thurber

This is going to sound very harsh in comparison... But F- that lady & her crazy kid, you were on YOUR property, right? (if not then disregard this) if it was me I would have asked them to leave & not come back.

I don't give a crap how scared you get NO ONE hits or throws ANYTHING at my dogs, no one thinks about the mental ramifications that has for a dog, I have a very friendly but abused dog buddy who that would have set back prolly a good month or so.

Stupid ppl >:/ sorry if I have no sympathies but I don't.

__________________If there are any typos, it means I am on my phone LOL

Yup I was on my own property. And OMG. Somebody on another forum told me that even though Eevee was under voice command and completely under my control, that I should have had a leash attached to her ON MY PROPERTY. <_<

I'm sorry, I mean I know that leashes are great for safety, and there are leash laws in most public places, but a leash does not = a dog under control. That comes from the owner and their relationship with their dog (It's up to the owner to determine whether their dog belongs on a leash or not on their own property). And if a dog follows voice commands reliably and is well-train/behaved, being off-leash does not mean they're "out of control." <_<

Anywhere else I would've said your dog has no business sniffing anybody and how she reacted would be totally normal of someone going out into public who doesn't WANT a dog sniffing her. It's not her job to have to deal with a dog getting in her personal space.

BUT.. another BUT here lol .. what you said to the girl does sound quite harsh. She was probably scared and reacted the first way she knew how.. not everyone is raised around dogs or know better. She probably just wanted the dog to go away.
Nobody is perfect and I know LOTS of peoples kneejerk reaction would've been to tell her off.. but I can see how people would've thought it was a rude way to react. She didn't hit your dog, she just freaked..you could've just called the dog to you and told her it was ok and that there was nothing to be scared of instead of telling her all that which sounds pretty harsh IMO

That's hindsight though. I'm sure you didn't mean to be mean to the girl.. I'm just saying, I can see how a third party might think you were being mean because you told her that.

*shrug* just try to explain that you weren't trying to be mean to the girl.. you were just trying to explain and didn't like the way she was treating your dog.

Just my 2 cents.

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Disclaimer: I work for Trupanion and love it/our policy! But I do not speak for the company or as the company.

Yeah, what I said was harsh. I said it sternly while she was screaming, trying to say it over the screams to get her to stop (which worked). She was panicking and it made ME panic a little. I just kindof reacted instinctually, in an attempt to get her to stop smacking at my dog. =/

If I see her again, I'll definitely apologize for sounding so mean, and that I didn't mean to come off as a jerk. I didn't have enough time to think of something more constructive to say. =(

I definitely see both sides of this, and I wouldn't fault your reaction.

On the one hand, there are people out there who have grown up without dogs around or who have had a poor experience. Some (but not all) of those people are also not endowed with any kind of innate animal sense, and are therefore liable to react badly (or "stupidly" to those of us who speak dog) to any sort of contact.

I had an ex-boyfriend who had grown up in a more developed part of town, and the first time he came into the pen with me to get the cows, he got kicked in the chin. I was floored. He had walked straight up behind that cow and slapped her on the rear. To me it was beyond stupid. To us, this girls' reaction was stupid or overblown, but I think we might be forgetting that we have experience and she doesn't.

My mother also has a phobia of dogs. She almost always reacts this way (yelling and screaming, completely losing control) when approached by even the friendliest animal. She just doesn't understand them. To her, a dog coming by to say hello is no different from a dog getting ready to attack. She simply can't read them.

On the other hand, I completely understand why this girl's reaction would throw you for a loop and make you feel defensive. Ideally, maybe you could have been more reassuring/less direct, but TBH I can see where it would have been tough to really assess the situation. She caught you off guard. It happens. I don't think you did anything "wrong" nor do I think that this interaction warrants any change of habit on your part.

I don't think you owe anyone an apology. If this girl was that frightened of dogs then her mother should have never brought her on property where there were dogs. If someone was trying to swat my dog with a shoe ON MY OWN PROPERTY, they owe me an apology as far as I'm concerned. She's not a toddler, and that kind of reaction is not ok. Not only is it not ok, but you are right, it is dangerous. She is much more likely to get biten in the long run with that sort of reaction.